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Jun 29, 2009

If you are a mom like me, you probably have participated in many fundraisers for school. I have tapered off how much I do over the years and have replaced it with Box Tops for Education. If you have been reading Momfiles long enough you would know that I have mentioned it quite a bit. We purchase tons of General Mills products each month and we make sure to save those little Box Tops so we can donate them to the kids' school. I subscribe to the Box Tops email list so I was recently offered a FREE collection box to store the Box Tops. Now I don't have to have them randomly floating around the kitchen in 50 different places including the infamous "junky drawer".

Now I can keep my collection box in my pantry so we all will know exactly where to keep our box tops!

I am sure no matter what part of the United States and depending in what part of the world you live in you would agree that it is HOT HOT HOT! I really don't know what it is but it seems as if weekends are getting lazier and lazier and we sometimes get nothing done. Nothing.

This weekend the only accomplishments that were made was that Dwayne swapped out an old light switch in William's room that took all of 10 minutes. The hardest part of that was being sure when Dwayne shut off the power that he did not shut down the AC or kitchen appliances. He was successful. The only thing I really did was I purchased some weed eater trimmer string which was not actually used and is still in the bag on the kitchen counter.

Now one really bad part of the weekend was all the unnecessary snacking. As long as all of us are home we eat. ALL day long. Dwayne and I think we need to spend a part of the weekend away from each other in order to be more productive. Being together means being lazy. This much comfort can be a bad thing!

Does anyone find this happening in their household or are we just lazy slobs? Please tell us you are like this too!

Jun 27, 2009

If you have been involved in any major disaster that wiped out all of the everyday conveniences of life it would be devastating. We went through Hurricane Andrew back in August of 1992 and we felt those feelings of devastation and hopelessness. You never know how much clean laundry really means until you don't have it for a couple of weeks. Can you imagine that? This is what we went through. Well in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Tide launched a campaign called Loads of Hope to help provide clean clothes for the families affected by disaster.

The Tide Loads of Hope program features a truck outfitted with 32 energy-efficient washers and dryers that can do 300 wash and dry cycles a day (the average American family does 392 loads per year). The program has also expanded to include a fleet of vans that can pick up and drop off laundry to local laundromats. Relief workers, first responders, and individuals in areas affected are able to drop off their laundry to be washed, dried and folded by the Tide Loads of Hope team, free of charge. The truck and vans are implemented after consultation with disaster relief agencies and local emergency management officials when significant disasters occur and there is a widespread need for clean clothing. This is a truly unique way to help communities! If you purchase the special Tide® yellow capped bottles of detergent 10¢ will go toward helping families affected by disasters.

You can also purchase one of their very cool vintage tees for $20 and proceeds will go to help affected families. The tees are so comfortable and they feel like your favorite t-shirt you have had for years and you won't get rid of it because it's perfectly "worn in". I was lucky enough to get one from Tide and it is my new favorite tee!

Now it's your turn to get a chance to win one of your very own. We are giving away one t-shirt to 3 lucky readers in hopes of spreading the word on what Tide® Loads of Hope is doing to help families in need of clean laundry affected by a major disaster.______________________________________________

To enter this giveaway please leave a unique comment to this post.

Want an additional entry? (You must complete the above method to qualify for extra entries)You can Twitter or Facebook this giveaway and please leave a separate comment/link for each entry to count.

You can also place our button on your blog (please leave a blog link in your comment)

Be sure to have a visible email in your comment if you do not have a Blogger profile. Giveaway deadline is July 10, 2009 at 11:59 pm EST. *Open to US residents only.

To learn more about the Tide® Loads of Hope program click here. Thanks so much Tide® for sponsoring this neat giveaway!

Jun 25, 2009

I know Dwayne is going to want to have a little chat with me about this post regarding his endorsement check. Sorry Dwayne, not this time. I went to the grocery store the other day and found one of my favorite beverage mixes on sale plus I had several coupons for them as well. I got ten containers all for FREE!!! All I do is add a pack to a little less water than it calls for and there you go, 60 jugs of low calorie drinks for the Summer! The Brita pitcher I won recently has come in very handy :) I think Dwayne should feel like I did some good for saving our family some money~!

Jun 24, 2009

Welcome to this week's edition of Vent Day Wednesday. Please pay attention to Dwayne's dumb jokes and let us know in the comments if they are actually funny to you. Also leave your vents in the comments section. Have a great day!

Jun 23, 2009

The girls were going through some old games and toys the other day and they put everything in my upstairs office so we can store them in the empty closet. I still can't understand why they keep some of this stuff. They claim they are sentimental. I told them they were 12 & 14 and don't even play with those things. They finally admitted to me that they keep it for if they need it in another 10-15 years. huh?? They spelled it out for me...for if they have their own children. They said it makes no sense to spend money on things that are in great condition. Okay, I'll give them that.

Now when you are walking around the corner and you see this, it would scare you every time....

It's a Barbie styling head. They have had that thing for years and have even given her haircuts (really bad ones). It was laying on its side on the floor the other day and William walked in the room and looked down. All you heard was screams of sheer terror! He was frozen in his tracks and was completely petrified. You should have seen him. I felt sorry for him and tried to control myself from laughing because it was funny at the same time! We plan to put it away since the girls won't let her go. After a while Dwayne might charge the girls storage fees. You know how the man loves making money!

Jun 21, 2009

We purchased William some new books over the weekend since shows so much interest in them over toys. I really don't know what it is but he really does not ever play with toys unless they belong to the dog. We found these fantastic board books that retailed around $10-$12 per book for a only a few dollars each. They are very brightly colored and larger than normal books for the birth-3 years of age. He just loves them.

This kid is so smart that he has a favorite book called Kitty Up! If you ask him where Kitty Up is he will find it underneath other books and say "up!" It's just the cutest thing. I love to read to William especially when I catch him glancing over at my face to watch my expressions. I get all into it to keep him interested. He will look at me at the exact same sentence every time I read a particular book.

The great part about his new books is that he won't be able to destroy them very easily like books with actual paper pages. Let's just say we have had a few casualties along the way! Don't let that innocent face fool ya!

Jun 18, 2009

My friends at MomSelect and Suave® Skin have generously sent me some amazing products as part of their Suave® Skin program. I have been a Suave® user for many years now. When you have a large family you have to cut corners and save where you can and these products are very budget friendly. I really love the bodywashes and feel the quality is top notch. I have used boutique products and honestly feel like I am throwing my money away. Since I have teenage daughters that are into beauty products, Suave® Skin products are a perfect fit for us. There are also many yummy fragrances to choose from like Wild Cherry Blossom, Ocean Breeze and Apricot Exfoliating.

Dwayne and I are really big fans of the Cocoa Butter with Shea Body Lotion. I used it especially during my pregnancy with William to keep my baby bump extra smooth and moisturized. I really love the way it makes my "Summer glow" look even more glowing too!

Now for the fun part, 1 lucky reader has a chance to win the 4 products pictured above! This prize includes one 18 oz Advanced Therapy lotion and 3-12 oz bodywashes (one of each scent) in Wild Cherry Blossom, Ocean Breeze and Apricot Exfoliating. Just leave a comment telling us if you are a Suave® user and what your favorite product is or visit the Suave® Skin site and tell us what you would like to try. Be sure to leave a valid email address if you do not have a Blogger account or ID. The deadline to enter is June 25th at 11:59 pm EST.Giveaway open to US residents only.

Would you like an extra entry?

1. You can tweet this giveway and leave a link to your tweet (one tweet per day)

2. You can place our button on your site (leave a link to your site)

**Be sure to leave an individual comment per entry method.

We're not done yet...

Suave® Skin has a really cool campaign for the Summer called "Shower Yourself Beautiful" that offers great tips from Holly Robinson Pete, actress and celebrity Mom. Each week running from June 15- July 20, you can create a different registry for a chance to instantly win your chosen prizes and also be automatically entered for a chance to win the ultimate at-home shower for you and your friends! Be sure to visit ShowerYourselfBeautiful.com for your chance to win.

Jun 16, 2009

We got William his first ride-on toy. I have actually been shopping around for one for a while now and it seems that these particular toys are hard to come by for boys (decently priced that is). I can find every princess, Dora, Barbie and all things girlie but finally found this one! Will really doesn't quite understand what he is supposed to do with it. He likes to push it all over the house!

He was being silly and leaning backwards and loving it! He is such a boy :)

Gee, hope Dwayne doesn't get mad that I am showing the brand and cutting into his endorsement money!!

Jun 13, 2009

When does your baby officially become a toddler? I get some emails that refer to William's age as toddler and others as baby. Is it once they start to walk? I always thought it was 2 years of age. What do you think?

Jun 11, 2009

I took little William for his 15 month check-up. He is developing perfectly on target and is doing all the things that are expected at this age. There was only one concern, his weight. It turns out that my once chubby baby dubbed "the Michelin baby" or "baby Sumo" is now in the 30th percentile for weight (22.9 lbs). I really do not know how percentiles work but I know it is on the low end. Maybe it is because he is in the 80th percentile for height. It's really funny that every person that sees William seems to think he is really big for his age but according to his doctor he is a bit on the thin side.

She even provided me with some literature on ways to pump up the calories by incorporating concentrated fats. These fats include butter, margarine, cheese, vegetable oil, mayonnaise, sour cream and cream cheese. I wish my doctor told me that I could have those things! Thankfully his pediatrician is very thorough and she assured me there is nothing to worry about and that he is just burning off calories from being so active. I probably should be glad that he is not on a restricted diet. So now William can eat anything he wants and then some! Lucky little fella!

Jun 10, 2009

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Jun 9, 2009

The kids are officially out of school for the Summer. Even though we get just under 3 months it breezes right by. Both girls have activities scheduled throughout the next couple months as well as preparations for the new school year. They have a lot of Summer reading along with written assignments that go with each book.I would like to think that I will not hear "Mom, I'm bored!". Seriously, if they pull that I will make them clean baseboards, cabinets, closets, and anything else that cure boredom. I'll take it old school if I have to!!

We purchased a membership to our State museum recently so that will be a good cool, indoor thing to do during the blistering months we will endure. It has already been in the 90's and I don't like it at all. The girls love to be outside and I only let them go before 10 am and after 7 pm. William still does not understand what "outside" is and something tells me it won't take long before he does! Happy Summer everyone :)

Jun 5, 2009

Jun 3, 2009

We decided we would not have a vent day this week with all of the last week of school festivities going on. We are very focused on the girls wrapping up these final days and honestly, we have nothing to vent about! Even Dwayne has been behaving himself, well maybe a little bit more than usual. I'm sure he will do something stupid by next week. I am in 100% mom mode for the rest of the week but I will be posting some photos of what we have been up to. On another note, out garden veggies are growing like mad! We may have to have a produce swap with our neighbors. I hope everybody has a fantastic day :-)

Jun 1, 2009

I know I trash talk Dwayne as often as I can but I really think he is one amazing fella. He just always knows what to say when I need him to say it. He treats me like a queen not in a material way but in an emotional sense. I love that he supports me in every choice I make. I don't know what I would do without him. He's my bad boy for life :)